Why a Pill That’s 4 Cents in Tanzania Costs Up to $400 in the U.S.

December 12, 2017

(NPR) – It’s not just a problem with the anti-hookworm pill. Drugs for diseases of the developing world, in particular what are known as “neglected tropical diseases” like hookworm and leishmaniasis, are enormously more expensive in the United States than in the developing world. “There really is no good reason for this price,” Dr. Jonathan Alpern says of the albendazole price tag. Alpern works for the HealthPartners Institute, the research division of a health care organization in Minnesota.